Many people
ask us if it is possible to train their llamas themselves. The simple
answer is "yes, you should be able to" providing of course that you have lots of
time, tremendous amounts of patience and the ability to read and
understand your llamas body
language.

The one thing that I will add to the
above statement is that, if you are a naturally nervous around large animals or
have little patience or a short fuse, then I would advise against trying to
train your llamas yourself, because even though the llamas may be trainable, you
may not have the right temperament you need to train llamas and you may cause
end up causing the llama more harm than good.

I
train llamas on a daily basis and for those
who wish to train their own llamas we offer the following little bits of advice:

Training facilities & safety

One
of the key things you will need to consider is, where are you going to start
training the llama(s). We recommend that you
have a catch pen into which the llamas will happily enter and where they can be
held safely and securely (We are fortunate enough to have purpose built llama
stables and training areas). Then you will need
a small area (training pen) in which to place an individual llama so that you can start initial
halter training . We use an area 9' x 6' as this provides
enough room to catch the llama and manoeuvre them within it safely.
As you can see from the photos above, we use a double gate system which allows
me to steer an individual llama into the training pen and then secure the gate.
Also using the above system we can create an even smaller triangular shaped pen
with a lot less room which allows me to stand outside the pen and handle the
llama if needs be. Note how all the halters and leads are close at hand so
that I can easily access everything I need for that session without ever having
to take my concentration off the llama I am training. It also means the the
llamas are used to seeing the halters and leads whenever they come into the barn
every day.

Of overriding importance for the training pen is the
safety of both the llama and yourself. Make sure that there are no really
sharp edges on which you or the llama can catch and potentially injure
yourselves or items in which either of you can become entangled. Also of
overriding importance is the need to be able to set the llama free quickly if
something goes wrong (always be prepared for the unexpected).

Whenever you are in the training pen with the llama
remember a good strong llama is a powerful animal and can deliver an
extremely quick and painful sideways kick (An accidental touch to a
non-desensitised llama resulted in my being kicked on the hand which broke 2 of
my fingers...I must add that this was entirely my fault and not the llama who
was just reacting naturally to a slight touch in a place he was not
expecting...we all make mistakes and making mistakes is ok providing that you
learn from them and the llama does not get injured in the process. Also remember that llamas are very good
jumpers and on more than one occasion I have had a llama suddenly spook for no
apparent reason and jump out of the training pen. I just get them back in,
calm them down and start again making sure that I evaluate what it was that I
did (or what it was that happened outside the pen) that caused the llama to
spook and jump in the first place.

Bond of Trust

Spend time getting to know your llamas and letting them
know that you are not a threat and will cause them no harm. When you start
training your llamas they will quickly form a bond-of-trust with you. You will
find that they come to trust you and look to you for guidance when they are
confused because they do not know what it is you want them to do or afraid. If you are
afraid then they will be afraid, if you are nervous they will be nervous, if you
are angry they will be frightened. When you have formed that
essential bond-of-trust with your llamas it will last a lifetime.

Body language

I am afraid that I and many other experienced llama
owners could probably write a whole book
just about body language but unfortunately I do not have the time. However, probably one
of the most valuable skills you can possess for training llamas (or owning them) is the ability
to read their body language and understand what they are telling you. Your
llama will communicate with you using a range of body postures and sounds, get to know what
they are telling you and your job will become 100% easier. I strongly suggest
you spend as much time as possible just watching your llamas and noting how they
interact with each other in different situations. Whenever you are near
your llamas just watch very carefully how they behave when you do certain
things and ask yourself why they are reacting the way they do. Also
remember that different llamas may react differently to a range of situations.

Be very patient and don't rush things

One of the biggest mistakes many people make when
trying to teach a llama to do something is that when they find they start to
make a little progress they feel all elated and suddenly try and rush things and end up
undoing all of the good work they have done already. It is important to
remember that llamas (just like us humans) have different personalities and metal capabilities, some
will be quick learners and some slow. Read their body language correctly
and you will quickly get to know how very different they are.

Don't ever lose you temper in front of
your llama

Never ever lose your temper and let the llamas know
about it. If you get frustrated (and oh boy you will, I promise you that now), do not
lose your temper in sight of the llamas or with the llamas...if you really must let off
steam, then stop the session, go somewhere where they cannot see you and shout and swear and hit
the wall but never ever lose your temper with or vent your wrath on the llama. If you do this and
start to shout at them, hit them or gesticulate wildly you will instantly break the bond
of trust that you have worked so hard to form and you will now have a llama that
fears and mistrusts you.

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

No matter what particular training exercise you are
performing with your llamas, be it haltering, leading, desensitising, brushing,
trekking, fitting a pack etc, the exercise must be repeated over and over again until
the llama fully understands and accepts what it is you are trying to get it to
do (and that it will not be harmed in the process). If you find something is
just not working then you need to stand back, assess where the problem lies (the
problem may be with you and not the llama) and then re-evaluate how you will now
re-approach that particular exercise. In many cases you may find that the llama
simply does not understand what it is you want it to do and as such cannot
comply properly. Don't forget that llamas will have off days when they
just wont get it right, just stop the session and switch to doing something
else, if you try and persevere you will gain nothing...remember llamas can also
be quite stubborn when they want to and if you ever try and get into a tug of
war with a large male...he will win.

Keep sessions short and simple

Keep your training sessions short and simple to
start with. We tend to keep training sessions down to 15 - 20 minutes at a
time when we start with a new trainee llama. It is tempting if things are going
well to just keep pressing on with the session and move to the next step, but
remember that the llama is learning something which is totally alien to him/her
and need time to assimilate what he/she has learned.

Devote the right amount of time

We are very fortunate in that being professional
llama breeders we have the time to devote to training llamas every day and when
we start out training new trekking herds we spend roughly 6 hours a day, 5 days
a week training and we keep this up constantly for 3 or 4 months (don't forget
that each exercise has to be repeated over and over again with each llama and if
we are training 6 llamas all at the same time....lots of repetition) . We realise that not
everyone has that amount of time on their hands to spend training their own
llamas, so if you are doing your own training remember that it is no good during
the early stages to teach a llama something and then expect to start off where
you left off 7 days later with no interaction in between.

Read, ask and read some more

There is a wealth of good information regarding
various training methods available on the internet and through other experienced
llama owners. As previously mentioned, many have different training ideas and
methods that they employ to achieve their end goal. We are always
receptive to new ideas and suggestions regarding llama training and constantly
look at other web sites and see how other trainers are doing things, if it
sounds good we will always give it a try, if it works great, if not then we just
don't do it again (remember that their method may be good but we may have been
applying the method incorrectly, but no one is perfect).

Recognise failure, recognise success

Training llamas can be long, hard and frustrating work.
You
will try some things which fail and it is important to recognise that this
particular approach failed and try a new approach. However, when something
works and you see progress, it is important to recognise that success and
congratulate yourself and more importantly congratulate the llama on its success
in mastering a particular task. The word "Good boy" or "Good Girl" will be
something you will want to be repeating over and over again during your
sessions. There is nothing more rewarding than standing watching the
llamas happily grazing in the field and thinking to yourself "that was a really
good day".

Have fun

Training llamas day after day is hard work, but it can
also be a lot of fun. If training starts to become a chore it is time to
re-valuate what you are doing and why you are doing it. Use the time constructively and
enjoy what you are doing. I really enjoy love watching the different
behaviours and characteristics of the llamas I am training and noting how they
change as the training progresses. I find nothing more relaxing and
pleasurable than taking the llamas out on a training walk a sunny day and
watching them relax and start to enjoy the walk, their heads turning and
watching all the things that are happening around them.

For those of
you who do decided to train your llamas yourself, we wish you every success and
lots of fun.